Officials from the City of Tacoma, the Skokomish Indian Tribe and numerous federal agencies officially ended a decades-long dispute over the Cushman Dam Hydroelectric Project with a signing ceremony this morning in Tacoma.

After years of acrimony, the city's utility and the Skokomish Indian Tribe agreed to a settlement that calls for the tribe to receive a $12.6 million one-time cash payment, 7.25 percent of the value of electric production from the Cushman No. 2 powerhouse, and transfer of land worth $23 million that includes the Camp Cushman on Lake Cushman, the 500-acre Nalley Ranch and Saltwater Park on Hood Canal.

The agreement, approved by the city last month, resolves a $5.8 billion claim from the tribe for damages dating to the construction of a pair of dams in the 1920s that at times either completely or nearly completely diverted the flow of water from the North Fork of the Skokomish River.

Joseph Pavel, chairman of the Skokomish Tribal Council, said his tribe was a small one with limited resources, but they worked hard for decades to bring back fish runs, win back land, and gain relief from flooding.

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"The time, energy and talent is disproportionate to anything else this tribe has done," Pavel said during the meeting at C.I. Shenanigan's restaurant on Tacoma's waterfront. The settlement came, Pavel said, "at great sacrifice to people."

Pavel said the agreement is just the first step toward the restoration of the North Fork watershed, which he described as a "truly great resource we have been blessed with" and one that will last for generations, long after the money from the settlement is spent.

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, praised those who worked on the agreement, noting that he and Booth Gardener and Chris Gregoire tried to settle it more than 20 years ago, "but couldn't do it."

"You did it, and you're in a better place for it," Dicks said.

Mayor Bill Baarsma called the agreement an historic occasion, and one that marks the establishment of a relationship he hopes will last for years to come.

Tom Hilyard, chairman of the Tacoma Public Utilities board of directors, said there are many challenges ahead as the parties implement the terms of the settlement. He called the settlement a "mutually beneficial agreement that will only get better as time goes by."